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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27184471">In the Dark of the Night</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyTheInevitable/pseuds/OnlyTheInevitable'>OnlyTheInevitable</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The X-Files</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Injury</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 03:27:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,877</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27184471</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyTheInevitable/pseuds/OnlyTheInevitable</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Mulder and Scully are investigating in the woods when he gets injured trying to protect her.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fox Mulder &amp; Dana Scully, Fox Mulder/Dana Scully</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>149</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>X-Files Horror Fanfic Exchange (2020)</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In the Dark of the Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Underworld_Vampires/gifts">Underworld_Vampires</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Jen for the Horror Exchange! The prompt was "Blood" and I hope you enjoy! You're always so kind and encouraging and it was a pleasure to write for you! &lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>No, no, no, no, no, no.</em>
</p><p>The word kept repeating itself in Scully's mind, a morbid metronome keeping time with her panicked heart beat. They weren't supposed to get separated, that was the one thing Mulder had been most adamant about. In every case, if a couple entered the forest, they would inevitably get separated. One person would make it out, the other-</p><p>
  <em>No, no, no, no, no.</em>
</p><p>She hadn't felt this type of pure, unadulterated fear since she was a child. Her hands were balled into trembling fists at her sides as her whole body resisted the urge to bolt, to run around frantically and find Mulder. Her throat was tight from resisting the urge to scream out for him. Just to make it all better, she'd left her gun in the car - so engrossed in Mulder's story that she'd completely forgotten to grab her holster. Now she was alone in the forest, completely defenseless. She wanted to cry out of pure frustration and fear.</p><p>Werewolves didn't exist. She was certain of that. But that didn't mean normal wolves didn't exist or that there weren't sick people who thought perpetuating a myth would help them get away with murder. With every blink of her eyes she felt like she was recreating Mulder's slide show projection, but instead of the past victims, it was him.</p><p>His jugular ripped to shreds. His intestines strewn across the damp earth. The hazel eyes she adored staring off into nothingness, soulful eyes missing the soul.</p><p>Scully jumped as one of her nails pierced the skin of her palm. Raising her hand to look at it in the light of the moon, she saw a bit of blood prickle to the surface of the wound. Despite the pain, the rush of endorphins cleared her mind a bit and cemented her back into reality. <em>She needed to find him, without something else finding her first.</em></p><p>Her flashlight had given out before she was separated from Mulder, but her eyes had grown more accustomed to the darkness so she could see with the aid of the moon. Looking at the forest floor, she took a few steps forward, trying to avoid stepping on anything that would make a sound. Her plan was futile, because after a few steps she heard the sound of a stick snapping cut through the silence like the slash of a knife. She grimaced and looked under her feet, certain she had been careful.</p><p>Nothing under her left foot, nothing under her right foot.</p><p>
  <em>SNAP</em>
</p><p>She felt her hair stand on end as goosebumps covered her body. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the silhouette of a black mass looming about forty feet away. <em>It had been watching her.</em></p><p>Without a second thought, she started running. She heard the creature, whatever it was, looming behind her. She couldn't hear anything aside from the sounds of her labored breathing and the sound of her pounding heart. If she remembered correctly, she was running in the direction of where Mulder had parked the car, but she couldn't be sure. A low growl started rumbling close behind her, and she felt her panic starting to mount higher than it ever had.</p><p>
  <em>I'm going to die.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mulder's going to find my mutilated corpse.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm not fast enough.</em>
</p><p>A whimper escaped her lips as she jumped over a fallen log. Upon sticking the landing, her heel dug into the dirt and she fell onto her hands and knees. She glanced around and saw a thick stick laying next to her, and she grabbed it before rolling onto her back, waiting for the creature to loom above her.</p><p>She could see it running towards her, but when it was ten feet away, a scream drew both of their attention away.</p><p>"Hey, over here ya mutt!"</p><p>
  <em>Mulder.</em>
</p><p>She saw Mulder pop out from behind a tree, waving his arms frantically to get the beast's attention.</p><p>"Mulder, no!" she cried out as the creature started lunging towards him instead. "Goddamn it."</p><p>She jumped up, shoes left embedded in the soil, and started running towards the scene. Mulder was running away from the creature, but it was faster. The mantra in her head returned as her stomach churned at the thought of what she was about to see. <em>No, no, no, no, no, no.</em></p><p>Then with a sickening thud, the creature jumped onto Mulder and knocked him to the ground. "No!" she screamed.</p><p>Her cry was punctuated by the sound of a gun going off followed by the whine of the creature. She stopped in her tracks as she saw the beast roll off of Mulder before taking off in the other direction. A gasp tore from her throat as she saw the copious amount of red staining Mulder's once white shirt. Her fear was lessened as she heard him groan, but only a little bit. He was alive, at least, for now.</p><p>"Mulder," she rasped, falling to her knees beside him as she tried to survey the damage.</p><p>He had eight deep puncture wounds, presumably from the claws digging into his flesh when he was mauled. "Hey, Scully," he moaned, his face contorted in pain. "Where did you go?" he asked.</p><p>"Where did I go? Where did you go?" she repeated, stripping off her jacket and pressing it to his chest, causing him to cry out in pain. "Sorry," she murmured.</p><p>"My flashlight went out and then you were gone," he replied, sitting up carefully. It was the same thing that had happened to her. Her flashlight went out, she looked down to examine it, and then he was gone.</p><p>"Don't push yourself," she reprimanded, her brows furrowing as she felt her hands become wet. <em>He was losing too much blood. </em>"Why didn't you shoot it sooner?" she asked, voice quivering from the overflow of adrenaline.</p><p>"T-too close to you. I wanted to lure him away," he replied with a grimace.</p><p>Of course he would put himself in danger just to save her. She felt her face growing hot with frustration at the situation, she wanted to cry in irritation at the futility of it all, but she needed to get Mulder to a hospital. She wasn't sure how long the creature's claws were, but with how much Mulder was bleeding, these eight stab wounds to the chest could prove deadly if they didn't handle it.</p><p>"How close do you think we are to the car?" she asked, trying to spread out her hands impossibly wide to cover all of the wounds.</p><p>"Not far," he replied with labored breath. "Maybe a three minute walk that way, two if we hurry."</p><p>"Can you move?" she asked, almost falling over from her kneeling position as he used her shoulder for support while trying to stand.</p><p>"Gotta," he replied. She got up with him and instructed him to use one hand to apply pressure to his chest while the other held her for support as she did the same. He cried out in pain when he touched his chest, but quickly muffled himself.</p><p>"Do you think you killed it?" she asked in a hushed tone, trying not to stumble under his weight.</p><p>"I'm not sure, I didn't have time to aim so I don't know where I hit it," he rasped, trying to walk fast but in too much pain to do so.</p><p>"I'm sorry you got hurt protecting me," she whispered, her jaw clenching as some blood ran down her wrist onto her arm.</p><p>"I'm just glad you're okay," he replied softly.</p><p><em>I won't be if we can't get you to a hospital soon, </em>she thought to herself.</p><p>A long drawn out howl pierced the night air and before Scully had any time to process what was happening, her back was up against a tree as Mulder pinned her to it with his body, effectively shielding her from any potential threat.</p><p>She tried to move, but it only made him wince in pain. She watched his face as he scanned the terrain in front of him and behind her. His eyes were latching onto different spots before darting to a new area. She felt her front growing damp and from this close she could see how pale he was. "Mulder, we have to move," she whispered frantically.</p><p>He nodded and leaned away from her, nearly falling over if it weren't for her grabbing onto him to stabilize him. "You comin' onto me, Scully?" he joked with a wince.</p><p>"I think I was the one who was just pinned against a tree," she joked back lightly, indulging him.</p><p>He let out a little chuff of laughter before swaying into her side again. "Just a little longer, Mulder. We're almost there," she comforted, though she had no idea where they were going in the first place.</p><p>"Sorry, Scully," he murmured.</p><p>She wasn't sure if he meant for bringing her out here, for getting hurt, or for something she didn't want to think of right now. "You have nothing to be sorry for," she replied, trying not to wince as the rocks and twigs dug into the soles of her feet.</p><p>"But," he started, only to be interrupted.</p><p>"There's the car!" she exclaimed in excitement.</p><p>They walked as fast as they could towards the car, and, upon reaching it, she dug into his pockets until she found the keys. She unlocked it as quickly as she could before easing Mulder into the passenger seat. With the overhead yellow glow of the car lights, she could assess just how bad the damage was. His entire torso was stained crimson and his pale skin was covered in a sheen of sweat.</p><p>She rushed around to the other side of the car, got in, and started the engine as quickly as she could. "I'm going to get you to a hospital, Mulder. Just hold on, okay?"</p><p>She wasn't sure how many laws she broke on the way there, but they were stumbling through the doors of a hospital ten minutes later. Eight puncture wounds, two inches deep each, eighty stitches, and one very tired Mulder later, and she finally felt like she could rest.</p><p>"I didn't know you were a NASCAR racer on top of a medical doctor and FBI agent, Scully," he joked from his hospital bed.</p><p>From her chair next to his bed, she grabbed one of his hands with her own and started playing with his fingers. "Thank you for saving me back there, Mulder."</p><p>He waved her off with his other hand as if her thanks was ridiculous. "You saved me just the same," he replied.</p><p>"Only because you got hurt protecting me," she retorted.</p><p>"I'd face a hundred werewolves if that meant I could protect you," he responded sweetly.</p><p>She felt her cheeks grow warm at his words, and her eyes fell down to their intertwined hands. Knowing she almost lost Mulder tonight put her on edge and she hadn't realized how much something happening to him would have killed her. <em>Was that how he felt when she was taken?</em></p><p>Deciding their emotions were too frayed for the route this conversation was headed, she took a page from Mulder's book and deflected. "It was just an average wolf, Mulder."</p><p>"Oh, brother."</p>
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